I’m going to tell you right up front: I’m bummed! Big Time!

I have written before about a fall ritual I perform every year. You would think, it being an autumnal ritual, that it would have something to do with hot cider, pumpkins, or sitting by a blazing fire while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. Nope! It has to do with my television viewing.

Every year I “study” the new fall television roster and set up my DVR to record each of the new shows that look interesting to me. I then try all of the shows. I have to be honest, I don’t make it through the entire show with most of them. A lot of the time, ten minutes is enough to give me the flavor of the show. However, every year I hold out the hope that there will be one or two new shows that I think are so good that I stay with them.

I had a few finds last year. However The Millers is the only one that the networks chose to keep on during the entire first season. Yes, I am like the Kiss of Death for the shows I think are good. It almost seems inevitable for my this-show’s-OK to be taken off the air after only a few episodes. I could almost become a predictor of shows that will be cancelled >>> by simply thinking the show is good!

As I mentioned, The Millers was one of the shows I enjoyed from last year’s fall line-up. Of course I should have been able to predict that this show was not going to remain on. >>> There were no push-up bras being worn, no smart-alecky kids talking back to the adults, nor any “adult double entendres.”

Instead, the show focused on an extended family. It revolved around a newly divorced somewhat Narcissistic brother (portrayed as only Will Arnett can!) who is a reporter for the local news. He happens to love his younger sister (another right-on portrayal by Jayma Mays). The younger sister is married to a man (Nelson Franklin is perfect as this out-to-lunch guy) who was brought up in a commune by his hippy parents. (Need I say more about the husband?!?) The brother helps his sister and her family out financially, not because he has to, but because there is obviously a sibling love between them.

To the horror of these two siblings, their parents come to town, telling them of their imminent divorce. The father (played beautifully by Beau Bridges) moves in with the daughter, and the mother (played brilliantly by Margo Martindale) moves in with the son.

I enjoyed this show so much that I really looked forward to seeing it again this fall. However, I noticed that there had been a huge change in the show this season. Hmmm… It was somewhat of a mystery to me that the producers would have changed something that for me, was not broken. That’s when I went to the internet, Googled “The Millers cancelled” and, to my surprise found out this show has been cancelled!

A show I discovered this fall is Marry Me. I think Casey Wilson and Ken Marino are absolutely adorable as a newly engaged couple. The rest of the cast is also very good >>> and it’s a real treat to see JoBeth Williams playing Ken Marino’s mom. Having said all this, I feel like I’m warning you. I hope me liking the show doesn’t mean NBC will cancel it!

Are there any new shows from this fall’s line-up that you think are so good you’d like to tell us about it/them? If so, please post a comment!